Croydon gang and youth violence on the decline, Home Office figures suggest

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in News
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by Robert Fisk, Chief reporter covering Croydon

Gang and youth violence is on the slide in Croydon since the riots of summer 2011 but much remains to be done, according to recently released figures.

Home Office statistics show wounding offences committed by youths aged between 10 and 19 dropped from 58 to 38 in the financial year 2010-11 to the year 2012-13.

But the number of grievous bodily harm offences rose from 32 to 40 in the same period.

The figures were released by London Probation Trust whose assistant chief officer, Andrew Hillas, said: “It is critical we work closely in partnership with local community organisations with a specialist track record of successfully helping young people leave gangs, as well as the local police.”

On the whole, gang and youth violence offending declined across all of the 18 local authorities surveyed, as part of a £10m Home Office campaign targeted at the most at-risk areas for gang culture.